It used to be that only rich people could afford to be fat. Now only rich people can afford to be thin. And there's even a growing income gap when it comes to suicide. Assisted suicide is legal in…

Would avant-garde musician be offended that scientists named a zit-causing bacterium P. acnes type Zappae. No, he would probably laugh.  But to winemakers it's not all that funny, it's instead a…

Scientific institutions and organizations can improve their communication and outreach with the public by addressing people's strongly held beliefs about science and its role in society - and using…

Researchers have made a discovery regarding the behavior of a synthetic molecular oscillator, which could serve as a timekeeping device to control artificial cells. Electronic oscillators are…

When you think of systems biology, you don't ordinarily think of process verification and methodology.Sure, there has been data verification in biology and clinical trials in pharmaceuticals, but…

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone 15S as it formed in the Mozambique Channel on Feb. 18 at 10:53 a.m. EST and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard gathered…

Drinking water with a relatively high concentration of magnesium protects against hip fractures, according to results of a study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.  They found that…

If we see or read about a child on a life-sustaining medical device, such as a ventilators or breathing or feeding tube,  we naturally think about the child And when it comes to parents, we…

In soccer, a team is most vulnerable to being scored on right after they score. Pundits and psychologists attribute that to overconfidence. Yet in the 2014 Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks dominated…

How smart do you have to be to convince Albert Einstein to change his mind? Pretty smart. He never invoked 'the science is settled' or ridiculed the political party of physicists who insisted the…

Ecstasy, marijuana (including synthetic cannabinoids sold as ‘Spice’ and ‘Incense’) and various psychoactive ‘legal highs’ have surged in popularity and Canada has become a major criminal hub for…

As if pretty people didn't have enough advantages, they may also give us a glance at their reproductive health, according to a paper in the American Journal of Human Biology reveals a link…

Julie Hartup, Mariana Islands Program Leader for the Manta Trust, has caught mantas on Guam in the act of having a party. Several of Hartup's paddler and free diving friends told her about seeing…

A mouse's heart beats about the same number of times in its lifetime as an elephant's, but a mouse only lives for about a year while an elephant will live to be about 70. Why do small plants and…

Last week, an article appeared in The Lancet Neurology (doi:10.1016/S1474-4422(13)70278-3) which reviewed studies and asserted that there is a "pandemic" of developmental toxicity. This led to a…

Does cortisol, the stress hormone, cause risk aversion and 'irrational pessimism' in bankers and fund managers during financial crises? The authors of a paper in Proceedings of the National…

I believe I am not alone in being fascinated by the ongoing debates about this or that physics experiment being on the verge of destroying the Earth. Microscopic black holes produced by mistake in…

Older football veterans contend that modern equipment, and its ability to protect players from injury, ironically lead to more of it. Rugby players agree.  They may be right. A new study…

Policy makers are in constant discussion about a range of climate change mitigation possibilities and among the least understood are geoengineering methods. The injection of sulfate particles into…

A Washington state referendum to put warning labels on genetically modified foods, I-522, failed in the last election, but a new effort is more clever - they want to warn the public about Frankenfish…